County board candidates share views at forum

Tuesday

Oct 30, 2012 at 8:35 PMOct 30, 2012 at 8:37 PM

15 of the 20 candidates speak

Mike Berry

Candidates for the Henry County Board in next Tuesday's election shared their thoughts on issues facing the county Monday evening at a forum sponsored by the Kewanee League of Women Voters.The candidates are running in District 2, which is the eastern half of the county. Ten candidates will be elected.Both parties have a full slate of candidates, but only 15 of the 20 candidates attended the forum.Those who spoke were:

DemocratsTed Sturtevant — An incumbent, he spoke of the challenge facing the board in the current economy, with state and federal governments cutting back on allocations to local governments.Even so, he noted, the board has managed to make extensive repairs to the county courthouse, without raising local taxes.Jim Kursock — He was chairman of the county board's transportation committee in 2009, when a new county asphalt plant was built, the only such plant operated by a county in Illinois.Having the asphalt plant saves money for cities, the county and other local governments, Kursock said.Jerry Thompson — Like Kursock, Thompson pointed out that just 10 percent of the property taxes in Henry County go to the county government."You get a good bang for your 10 percent," he said, listing county services that are funded by the tax receipts.Thomas Wiley — "My goal is to bring new ideas to help the county any way I can," he said.Sammie Borst — "I'd like to see everybody work together on good ideas, no matter which side they come from," she said.One of her ideas, she said, is establishing a community health care plan in the county.Tom May — A Kewanee City Council member in the 1970s, May said that experience taught him how to work with other elected officials. "Probably the best way (to work together) is a little give and take — and get things done," he said.Democrats Jan May, John Sovanski, James Findley and Eric Hollaway did not attend.

RepublicansRoger Gradert — "There's nowhere else, in my opinion, that offers a better package than Henry County" for residents and businesses," he said. Gradert noted the settlement of the contract with the sheriff's department employees, and said he'd like to settle contracts with all five unions representing county employees by the end of this year.Kippy Nelson — "I have gotten a firsthand education as to the workings of county government" in her years on the board, she said. Noting the county's diversified economy, she said the board should work to help attract business and tourism.David DeDobbelaere — A Lynn Center resident, he recently retired from John Deere. He said he would bring leadership and vision to the board, and stressed the importance of fiscal responsibility for county government.Dennis Anderson — A former Henry County Clerk who worked at Compaction America and Kewanee Boiler, Anderson has served and several county board committees and is currently the finance committee chairman.Thomas Millsaps — He described himself as a "conservative, traditional ex-military" person. He has a degree in economics, and said economics is "the engine behind our quality of life."Marshall Jones — Jones was appointed the board in September to fill a vacancy and is running for election to the board.He said the main issues are jobs, and the economic condition of the county and state. Jones pledged to exercise fiscal restraint, and to make sure public safety employees of the county "have what they need to get the job done."Kelli Parsons — A special education teacher at Wethersfield, Mrs. Parsons said, "My passion for learning is why I was recruited by county board members to run.""We are growing the future of Henry County in our classrooms," she said, adding that she wants to attract college graduates from the county to return to the county.Terry Sears — Retired after 35 years with Caterpillar, Sears said he knowledge and experience in economics and marketing will be a plus as a board member.Describing himself as "very much a moderate," Sears said he looks at specifics of issues before making a decision.Bill LeSage — He moved to Henry County as a child when the Chicago Stockyards closed and opened a satellite facility in Atkinson. LeSage said he wants to maintain the quality of life in Henry County that attracted the stockyards here in the 1960s."There's not much wrong with Henry County," he said.Republican candidate Rebecca McCaw did not attend the forum.

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